MealPal, a lunch service

For those of us who work in the downtown DC area, MealPal has proven itself to be a pretty decent choice. At a base price of $6.39/meal (for the 12 meal/month package, or $5.99/meal for the 20 meal/month package), this new-ish lunch ordering service offers good value and convenience at a price that won’t break the bank.

But, it gets better. Following the trend of (insert name of silicon valley startup here), I would hazard a guess that MealPal has decided to throw money at the wall until it sticks. If you simply sign up for the service (optional referral link here) and WAIT – I know, patience is hard – they typically send me a handful of offers every month for as much as 40-50% off a month of service. And here’s how their program works (steps 4-6 are for more advanced users, beginners beware).

Sign up for service

Order lunch after between 5pm the day before – 9:30am the day of

Pick up lunch during your specified window (I’ve found that this is more of a polite suggestion than a hard/fast rule)

The biggest/only pitfall to be aware of: the service only currently covers weekday lunches, so you’ll be using this EVERY SINGLE WORK DAY if you get the 20-meal package; I opt for the 12-meal package for some extra leeway and the occasional fast food option. That math again, ladies and gentlemen, works out to approximately $3/meal with no grocery shopping, meal prep, or cleaning involved.

Editors Note: I’ve started getting some feedback in recent months and it turns out that MealPal is one of those companies (looking at you, TG) that promises substantial discounts/rewards but will seek out any loophole – legitimate or not – to either underpay or outright refuse to pay as promised. In light of this new information, I cannot in good conscience recommend them any longer. I will leave this post up as the information above is still accurate, but am changing my unofficial rating from hot to not.